Mayo hopelessly equipped to deal with clinical Kerry

Years of campaigning and some painful defeats have hardened Kerry. Mayo have yet to develop that edge

A LOT of people this summer accused Kerry of being a cynical team. Last Sunday those critics could have done with altering that description to clinical. Kerry bullied Mayo out of it but they also played some of the best football I’ve seen from any Kerry team for a long time.

Everything about Kerry felt right. The vibes coming from them were perfect all week. They knocked some serious schelps out of each other in a practice game in Cork, which is something you love to hear the week before an All-Ireland final. Jack O’Connor told me on Sunday night he felt the team was peaking at just the right time. They were ready. Mayo weren’t.

The underdogs didn’t show up. Physically, Kerry blew them away and by half-time Mayo were lucky to be only six behind. They always needed a superb performance to beat Kerry but no team would